Salam AidilFitri 1445 Hijrah Dari Naim
1 week ago
On Tuesday, February 16, 2010
PERSONALITY
“Everything we see belongs to Allah; I only manage it, that’s all. When Allah blesses us with wealth, we need to go down to the field and see what we can do to help. Allah blesses us with good fortune so we can help others. That good fortune can be revoked at any moment. If there are corporate leaders who are unwilling to get down to the field, perhaps it’s because to them, the lure of money is stronger than anything else.
“Some of the good fortune we receive actually belongs to someone else. Even from the view of law, that is how it is. We must pay our zakat. However, the zakat we pay is not a large amount at all. Islam is a fair religion, it asks for so little. Therefore, if we have any extra money, it should be spent for the good,” says the country’s Malay conglomerate figure, Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al Bukhariy, 55.
Though he was listed as the seventh wealthiest man in the country by ‘Forbes’, an international economic and business magazine, with assets valued at AS$2 billion (RM6.6 billion), Syed Mokhtar drives around in a Proton Perdana and studied only up to form five, with just a secondary school level qualification (SPM).
His generosity in contributing to society, while remaining humble, has gained him the people’s respect.
His contributions to society began when his mother asked him to give part of his first allowance (RM750) as director of a rice mill company, to their neighbour who was in a financial difficulty. Aside from this, his mother also asked him to send kerosene lamps to suraus in order to light their nightly worship activities throughout the Ramadhan month.
BACKGROUND
Syed Mokhtar was born in Alor Setar, Kedah in 1951. His family hailed from Hadhramaut, Yemen. Before deciding to live in Kedah, his father travelled as far as Central Asia to trade. Then, his father went to Thailand, before finally deciding to live in Alor Setar, Kedah in the mid 1940’s.
This business leader has seven siblings and he is the third child.
When he was young, he lived a very modest life, so much so that his house in Kampung Hutan Keriang, Kedah, had no bed, or even table and chair. Shortage of money led his family to send him to live with his uncle, Syed Omar in Johor Bahru, to study there.
Syed Mokhtar lived in Johor Bharu and continued his studies there until form two, before returning to Kedah to study up to form five at Saint Micheal’s School.
A unique fact, which can actually be viewed as his first direct involvement in business, is that he used to help his father with his business’ accounting. This took place during recess period, when his father would go to his school and ask him to go through his accounting book and take care of it. This valuable experience is one of the solid foundations Syed Mokhtar acquired before he became involved in the real world of business.
After school, Syed Mokhtar would help his father take care of livestock at a quarantine centre close to the railway station in Alor Setar. He never attended university because they did not have the money, but that did not stop him from starting a business. Syed Mokhtar was also smart to use the experience he had gained from helping his father, as reference in his own business.
Aside from his father’s business, Syed Mokhtar also helped his mother cultivate vegetables to be sold at a market on Jalan Telok Wan Jah. In fact, this seventh wealthiest man in Malaysia had even sold roti canai in that same market.
STARTING A BUSINESS
In the mid 1970s, his father’s cattle business ran into trouble following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. The outbreak spread throughout southern Thailand, Kedah and Perlis. As a result, nearly all their livestock perished.
However, this downturn in event actually had a silver lining. Since then, Syed Mokhtar took over his father’s business and decided never again to become involved in the cattle business. Instead, he decided to go into the business of selling meat.
As a start, at the age of 19, Syed Mokhtar scoured markets around Alor Setar to buy unsold meat from the vendors there. The meat would then be re-sold to bumiputera traders in the surrounding area.
Although these were unsold meat, they were packaged carefully and nicely, and kept on ice to maintain freshness. Thus, using his experience in handling good quality products, Syed Mokhtar’s business received encouraging response from the public. This success made him even more driven to expand the business.
Soon after, Syed Mokhtar moved on to the transportation business. After successfully acquiring a license for four Class A lorries in 1972, Syed Mokhtar secured a loan in the amount of RM110,000 from the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) to buy two Mercedes Benz lorries.
At first, he wanted to buy four lorries, but the plan did not come to light because of technical problems, leaving him with two remaining permits. A Chinese trader approached him to buy those permits, but Syed Mokhtar refused the offer and decided to return the permits to MARA.
He then established a transportation company named Syarikat Pengangkutan Sentosa, and appointed a Chinese clerk to be the manager. Interestingly, the company still exists until today.
From a small business that offered transport service to haul rice, it now owns more than 40 lorries for various transport purposes.
+/- Baca Lagi
“Everything we see belongs to Allah; I only manage it, that’s all. When Allah blesses us with wealth, we need to go down to the field and see what we can do to help. Allah blesses us with good fortune so we can help others. That good fortune can be revoked at any moment. If there are corporate leaders who are unwilling to get down to the field, perhaps it’s because to them, the lure of money is stronger than anything else.
“Some of the good fortune we receive actually belongs to someone else. Even from the view of law, that is how it is. We must pay our zakat. However, the zakat we pay is not a large amount at all. Islam is a fair religion, it asks for so little. Therefore, if we have any extra money, it should be spent for the good,” says the country’s Malay conglomerate figure, Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al Bukhariy, 55.
Though he was listed as the seventh wealthiest man in the country by ‘Forbes’, an international economic and business magazine, with assets valued at AS$2 billion (RM6.6 billion), Syed Mokhtar drives around in a Proton Perdana and studied only up to form five, with just a secondary school level qualification (SPM).
His generosity in contributing to society, while remaining humble, has gained him the people’s respect.
His contributions to society began when his mother asked him to give part of his first allowance (RM750) as director of a rice mill company, to their neighbour who was in a financial difficulty. Aside from this, his mother also asked him to send kerosene lamps to suraus in order to light their nightly worship activities throughout the Ramadhan month.
BACKGROUND
Syed Mokhtar was born in Alor Setar, Kedah in 1951. His family hailed from Hadhramaut, Yemen. Before deciding to live in Kedah, his father travelled as far as Central Asia to trade. Then, his father went to Thailand, before finally deciding to live in Alor Setar, Kedah in the mid 1940’s.
This business leader has seven siblings and he is the third child.
When he was young, he lived a very modest life, so much so that his house in Kampung Hutan Keriang, Kedah, had no bed, or even table and chair. Shortage of money led his family to send him to live with his uncle, Syed Omar in Johor Bahru, to study there.
Syed Mokhtar lived in Johor Bharu and continued his studies there until form two, before returning to Kedah to study up to form five at Saint Micheal’s School.
A unique fact, which can actually be viewed as his first direct involvement in business, is that he used to help his father with his business’ accounting. This took place during recess period, when his father would go to his school and ask him to go through his accounting book and take care of it. This valuable experience is one of the solid foundations Syed Mokhtar acquired before he became involved in the real world of business.
After school, Syed Mokhtar would help his father take care of livestock at a quarantine centre close to the railway station in Alor Setar. He never attended university because they did not have the money, but that did not stop him from starting a business. Syed Mokhtar was also smart to use the experience he had gained from helping his father, as reference in his own business.
Aside from his father’s business, Syed Mokhtar also helped his mother cultivate vegetables to be sold at a market on Jalan Telok Wan Jah. In fact, this seventh wealthiest man in Malaysia had even sold roti canai in that same market.
STARTING A BUSINESS
In the mid 1970s, his father’s cattle business ran into trouble following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. The outbreak spread throughout southern Thailand, Kedah and Perlis. As a result, nearly all their livestock perished.
However, this downturn in event actually had a silver lining. Since then, Syed Mokhtar took over his father’s business and decided never again to become involved in the cattle business. Instead, he decided to go into the business of selling meat.
As a start, at the age of 19, Syed Mokhtar scoured markets around Alor Setar to buy unsold meat from the vendors there. The meat would then be re-sold to bumiputera traders in the surrounding area.
Although these were unsold meat, they were packaged carefully and nicely, and kept on ice to maintain freshness. Thus, using his experience in handling good quality products, Syed Mokhtar’s business received encouraging response from the public. This success made him even more driven to expand the business.
Soon after, Syed Mokhtar moved on to the transportation business. After successfully acquiring a license for four Class A lorries in 1972, Syed Mokhtar secured a loan in the amount of RM110,000 from the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) to buy two Mercedes Benz lorries.
At first, he wanted to buy four lorries, but the plan did not come to light because of technical problems, leaving him with two remaining permits. A Chinese trader approached him to buy those permits, but Syed Mokhtar refused the offer and decided to return the permits to MARA.
He then established a transportation company named Syarikat Pengangkutan Sentosa, and appointed a Chinese clerk to be the manager. Interestingly, the company still exists until today.
From a small business that offered transport service to haul rice, it now owns more than 40 lorries for various transport purposes.
+/- Baca Lagi
ESTABLISHED A RICE COMPANY
As Syarikat Pengangkutan Sentosa grew bigger, Syed Mokhtar bought a shop lot in the same area where he once helped his mother sell vegetables (Tok Wan Jah market).
Not long after that, in 1975, he established Syarikat Shah, after applying for a rice trading licence from the National Rice Board, which is now known as BERNAS.
Thanks to his experience in the rice distribution business, he successfully acquired a contract to supply rice to FELDA, MARA Pernas Edar and Sergam Sdn. Bhd., which is a subsidiary of the Johor State Economic Development Corporation (PKENJ).
EXPANDING BUSINESS
After establishing Syarikat Shah, he created Syarikat Bukhary, which is involved in the rice and sugar business. And just like Syarikat Pengangkutan Sentosa, Bukhary still exists and has expanded until now, with an annual revenue of around RM250 million!
The company then expanded into Bukhary (KL) Sdn. Bhd. in 1977. The company won many government contracts which were offered to bumiputera entrepreneurs at the time, and based its operations in a four-storey shop lot on Jalan Pahang.
Because the business was expanding so fast, he renovated the office on the ground floor and turned it into a packaging area for chocolates, flour and tea supplied to the government. He then created Susu Mas Sdn. Bhd (Susu Mas) in 1979 to facilitate his business of supplying to the government.
Like Bukhary, Susu mas was also a joint-venture company, this time with New Zealand Milk Products. He held 51 percent share in the company. The Susu Mas product was marketed under the brand Fernleaf. However, following the economic crisis which hit the country at the end of 1980’s, he decided to sell his business interest in that company.
AMTEK, CROCODILE AND LOUIS
The 1980’s and 1990’s, saw him getting involved in the clothing and manufacturing industry. His star continued to shine bright and he won a contract to produce military uniform for the Ministry of Defense. Through this contract, his company was required to supply the Armed Forces (ATM) with more than 100,000 pairs of boots and 330,000 sets of army uniforms.
This success moved him to decide to create two clothing company, Amtek Holdings (Amtek) which manufactured shoes, while Oriental Garments Uniform Dividion (Oriental) produced boots. Oriental is another one of his joint-venture companies. This time with Oriental Garments in Pulau Pinang.
Although Amtek was then successfully listed at the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in 1998, he was still not satisfied, and wanted to expand his business empire even further.
Syed Mokhtar then bought over the Sparkmanshop brand and all rights to market and produce products under the Crocodile brand. Crocodile now has a wide variety of good clothing for women and men, including shirts, pants, belts and shoes.
Most recently, Amtek Shoes, a subsidiary of Amtek, produces shoes for the use of the ATM and clothing under the brand Lee Cooper and Louis. Undoubtedly, many among us have worn clothing items with these brands before without even realising it.
The reality is, Syed Mokhtar’s business empire has expanded so wide, it doesn’t just involve meat, rice, sugar and clothing items; it also includes some of the country’s heavy industries.
He created Bukhari Shipping to facilitate transportation of goods especially foodstuff from Sabah and Sarawak to Thailand and vice versa. With a capital of AS$1 million, he acquired a used ship made in Germany, which was renamed Angsa Emas (Golden Goose).
While taking care of business in Bukhari shipping, Syed Mokhtar began to familiarize himself with real estate as he purchase some land in Alor Setar and set up several construction projects there.
Syed Mokhtar also has 22.7 percent interest in Malakoff Berhad, an independent power producer (IPP) company, and 20 percent interest in IJM Corporation, which deals in real estate development, mining and agriculture.
In 2000, IJM won the Best International Contractor in Malaysia award, and the following year, the Best Construction Company in Malaysia award for its achievements.
Aside from this, he also owns 18 percent share in Bernas, which is involved in rice trading, and 32 percent share in Pernas International Holdings Berhad, a business conglomerate involved in many business sectors. He also owns 18.7 percent share in Fiamma Holdings, the country’s electronic goods marketing and distribution company.
Ever heard of MPH Bookstores? Most certainly many have. However, not many realise that Syed Mokhtar is the sole owner of MPH.
Aside from the businesses and other interests mentioned above, Syed Mokhtar is also involved in several privatisation projects such as Johor Port Sdn Bhd and Johor Tenggara Oil Palm Sdn Bhd.
He became involved with Johor Port through a tender valued at RM330 million. Johor Tenggara Oil Palm Sdn. Bhd. was purchased by Syed Mokhtar at a cost of RM135 million. After becoming involved with Johor Port, he developed Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas and made it a success. The port has progressed so much that it attracted many international companies to use the port. Its efficiency also made two of the largest shipping companies in the world – Denmark’s Maersk Sealand and Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine - to move their base from Singapore to Tanjung Pelepas.
ECONOMIC CRISIS 1997/98
Unfortunately, Syed Mokhtar did not escape losses when Bukhari Shipping faced a crisis. As a result, he was forced to sell Angsa Mas and suffered a loss of AS$400,000. What’s worse, he had already lost around RM2 billion during the economic crisis in 1997/1998, in order to protect several bumiputera interests in the country.
CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS MUSLIM EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA
Although he enjoys his success as the nation’s number one bumiputera conglomerate figure, he has not forgotten his responsibility to help his Muslim brethrens. For this purpose, the Yayasan al_Bukhary was established in March 1996 to help the poor, particularly in the area of education.
Until today, Yayasan al-Bukhary has spent more than RM300 million for religious, cultural and educational activities. The foundation not only provides aid to people of this country, but also countries that are members in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).
Among the biggest projects ever conducted was the construction of the Kompleks al-Bukhary costing RM400 million in Kedah. The complex is a centre complete with facilities including a mosque, medical centre, community centre, housing for orphans, a special academy of the elderly and an institution of higher education.
This foundation also created the International Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur, at a cost of RM100 million. This four-storey building is the first museum in Asia Pacific that showcases Islamic works of art. Yayasan al-Bukhary also built 16 mosques all over the world.
The most recent project was the construction of the Al-Bukhary Mosque, located in a strategic spot near Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. The location of the mosque, which was built at a cost of RM12.2 million, also makes it convenient for Muslims, especially those around Jalan Hang Tuah, Jalan Pudu and Bukit Bintang area to pray.
OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS
Prior to 2000, Yayasan Al-Bukhary donated about RM7.75 million to Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, a world-renowned centre of Islamic studies. And starting from November 2007, Yayasan Al-Bukhary will sponsor 28 more students to study at the International Islamic University Malaysia.
Yayaan Al-Bukhary is also involved with the Al-Bukhary International University’s construction project in Kedah, which costs RM500 million. It will cater to 3,000 students of whom 70 percent are foreign students fully sponsored by the foundation by 2009.
Last 6 September, Yayasan Al-Bukhary donated AS$1 million to the Lebanese Humanitarian Fund in order to lessen the burden suffered by people of that country, who are victims of Israel’s atrocity.
Actually, this foundation also helps non-Islamic based organisations.
For example, around RM1 million was donated by the foundation for the Langkawi Project, an effort spearheaded by the MCA, in the area of education, particularly in providing scholarships to financially needy students from rural areas.
Indeed, the success enjoyed by Syed Mokhtar today was not gained through easy shortcuts. Hard work, self confidence, and faith that everything comes from Allah, has made him a bumiputera conglomerate icon for everyone to aspire to.